when the bass dropped
by Perdue
Summary: Jane has never been particularly fond of parties, but Lalonde has always been fond of Jane. Scratched!Mom/Jane OS.


this is a late birthday present for my lovely friend kitty, or **happilyunorthodox **over at tumblr!

**Warnings: **giiiirls pretty girls with alcohol

**Disclaimer: **hussie wat r u doin

**when the bass dropped  
><strong>_-_

The night Lalonde invited Jane to accompany her, Jane wasn't sure what to think.

Parties and excessive alcohol and grinding to top forty hits were not what Jane considered to be fun. Left to her own devices, she would much rather be baking, reading mystery novels, watching movies with her friends or even alone, running her "men with mustaches" blog. It's not that she hated parties or alcohol, and she certainly didn't think of people who _did _find those things to be enjoyable as inferior to her in any way. Most of the time she didn't think about them at all.

In fact, she didn't think herself possible of disliking people who partied. Lalonde, after all, was one of her best friends, and she was out every Friday and Saturday (and sometimes Sunday and Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday) going to house parties or clubs. Jane never complained when she came back at two in the morning, smashed off her tits and climbing in bed with her and breathing alcohol and moisture into her neck. She especially never complained when Lalonde was drunk enough that she knew she wouldn't be able to get herself home safely and called for a ride.

It was tiring, but she never complained.

Why did she never complain? Sometimes she wondered. Did she really not mind being woken up at godawful hours of the night and kept up while Lalonde slurred gibberish in her ear?

Maybe she didn't.

"Are you sure you want me to go?" she asked tentatively, and then with a smile, "I might cramp your style!"

Lalonde smirked and threw an arm around Jane's shoulders. "No way, Janey, you could never cramp my style. I just want to hang out with you! It'll be fuuuun."

"I guess so," Jane said, and two hours later they were walking into the apartment of one of Lalonde's classmates. The music was loud and the bass low, the lights dimmed and the red plastic cups plentiful. Lalonde grabbed two drinks seemingly out of nowhere and handed one of them to Jane before disappearing into the tightly packed throng of their peers dancing and grinding in the small living room. Jane stood next to the couch that had been pushed up against a far wall to make room for the partiers, arms crossed over her chest, watching the dancers with a low feeling of apathy that grew into soft churning in her stomach as she found Lalonde in the crowd. It had been several months since she'd cut her hair, and it was starting to pass her shoulders, and the way it flipped around as she danced was mesmerizing; then, when the bass dropped, the way she closed her eyes, mascaraed lashes dark against rosy cheeks, and lost herself in the heavy sound and the frantic energy of the people surrounding her. Jane absently brought the cup to her lips and, eyes never leaving her roommate, took a sip. But the taste was too strong and she ended up wincing and coughing, and like that the spell was broken. She set down the cup on a nearby table, and when she found Lalonde again, a soft disdain expanded in her chest. There was a boy dancing behind her, hands on her hips and pelvis moving to the beat against her backside, and Jane had only had one sip of alcohol but for some reason the sight made her want to throw up.

This wasn't fun. It wasn't fun at all. Jane didn't like the nauseous feeling curling in her stomach, or the way that Lalonde seemed to have forgotten about her in favor of being felt up by some creep, or the fact that this was probably the norm for Lalonde, but mostly that she was too scared and out of place to even try to enjoy herself or talk to someone or move over to Lalonde or do _anything_. She considered leaving, just walking out and not saying anything, because at least then she wouldn't have to deal with Lalonde's confused expression, or worse, Lalonde just saying, "Alright, bye!" and going back to that boy and not caring in the slightest.

She pulled out her phone and pulled open the pesterchum application Lalonde had downloaded onto it.

- gutsyGumshoe [GG] began pestering timaeusTestified [TT] –

GG: Strider, I am at my wits' end!  
>TT: What is the problem this evening, Jane?<br>GG: Lalonde!  
>GG: She dragged me to this ridiculous party and said it would be "fuuun" even though she knows I don't like drinking or loud music!<br>GG: And now she isn't talking to me and I think I should leave.  
>TT: It seems you are rather upset at the moment.<br>TT: Is it possible to confront our drunkenly friend and request she pay you a bit more attention?  
>GG: ...I don't know. She parties all the time and I do not want to ruin her fun.<br>TT: Always so polite.  
>TT: Perhaps you should allow yourself the slight amount of selfishness it would take to gain her attention.<br>TT: I doubt she would hold it against you.  
>GG: Hrm, I could.<br>GG: I just do not know, Strider. I think it would be easier to just leave.  
>TT: Rest assured I would gladly come pick you up if I was capable.<br>GG: Is Jake borrowing your car?  
>TT: No.<br>GG: ...  
>GG: Am I talking to your auto responder?<br>TT: Apologies. DS is in the shower at the moment, and seeing as you were upset I did not want his absence to exacerbate matters.  
>GG: Sigh, it's fine. Thank you for the advice, in any case.<br>GG: And also for the ineffectual offer to give me a ride.  
>GG: Fortunately, I drove my own car. I guess I'll just pick up Lalonde later.<br>TT: I can always request DS to perform that task for you, if you would rather not have to face her later on.  
>GG: Oh.<br>GG: Well, I suppose if he isn't too busy, I would appreciate that.  
>GG: Thanks, AR.<p>

- gutsyGumshoe [GG] ceased pestering timaeusTestified [TT] –

But as soon as she returned her phone to her pocket, completely prepared to leave and text Lalonde when she was safe at home, the blonde was in front of her, magenta eyes captivating Jane's own. For once, Lalonde didn't say anything. She merely took Jane's hands in her own and led her into the middle of the crowd, and there were so many people, and they were pressed together so tightly, and Jane felt so oddly hyperaware of Lalonde's hands on her sides, their breasts pushing together in the closeness of this strange embrace. And all of a sudden, the bass dropped again, and Lalonde was grinding against her, eyes never leaving Jane's, and everything was warm and Jane couldn't breathe.

All of the songs seemed to run together, but after a while Lalonde went to get more drinks, and this time Jane swallowed down the poorly mixed alcohol along with the disgust. By the fifth drink (and Lalonde's fifteenth) she came to the hazy realization that Lalonde hadn't danced with anyone else since bringing Jane to the dance floor. And for some reason that was just out of her grasp, that fact made her really happy. In a tipsy attempt at expressing her gratitude, Jane wrapped her arms around Lalonde's neck and tried to fight down the butterflies at the feeling of Lalonde's breasts pressed to hers, and she didn't even back away when she felt Lalonde's hands on her butt.

After a few hours, Lalonde suggested they go back home, and once they had both sat down in the car, Jane rested her head against the driving wheel and whispered, "I don't think I can drive."

"Nooo big deal, Janey," she slurred back, pulling out her phone. Jane leaned back and Lalonde reached over and took her hand as she texted with the other.

- tipsyGnostalgic [TG] began pestering timaeusTestified [TT] –

TG: striderrrrrr  
>TG: jaen and i are so drunk rihgt now an sh ecant dribe<br>TG: * lots of typow  
>TT: Did the AR's advice from earlier prove to be successful?<br>TG: ys we grndedd an i toucgd her buttt it ws gret  
>TG: now cn u plz jst get off ur hihg horsr and com eget ud<br>TG: were at gregs  
>TT: I'll be there soon.<p>

- timaeusTestified [TT] ceased pestering tipsyGnostalgic [TG] –

Lalonde dropped her phone and giggled, "Shit," under her breath, but then she turned and looked at Jane and their eyes met, and Jane felt the same fluttery feeling that she'd been feeling all night ever since Lalonde first took her hands. Lalonde just…tried sometimes, really hard to make Jane feel special—hell, she probably invited Jane to go to this party out of her own attempt to show Jane that she wanted to spend time with her. And Jane thought quietly that sometimes she was not the best at affirming how much she cared about Lalonde, at least not past picking her up from parties every now and again.

Struck with the sudden and desperate need to make Lalonde know how much she appreciated her, Jane leaned over and drunkenly pressed her lips to Lalonde's. There was a moment where everything seemed to hang in limbo, during which time Jane was able to wonder if this had been a bad idea, but soon enough Lalonde was returning the pressure, the hand that had been holding her phone reaching up into Jane's hair.

They stayed that way for several minutes, strangely chaste for how drunk they both were, until Lalonde pulled away and looked Jane in the eyes, eyebrows crinkling as she murmured tearfully, "Jane, I can't… I'm sorry, but I love you."

Jane gazed at her with honest confusion. "Why did you stop?"

For the first time Lalonde averted her gaze. "Because you're drunk and I love you and I don't want to take advantage of you and you're gonna marry Jake someday, I don't know…"

Jane's brows furrowed. She turned so that she was sitting to the side and placed a hand on Lalonde's knee over the armrest. "Maybe I'm not thinking clearly right now," she said softly. "I could wake up tomorrow morning and think this is the stupidest thing I've ever done, but…" She leaned closer, her other hand reaching up and resting over Lalonde's breast and lips dangerously close to Lalonde's. "I don't want you to stop."

Jane hoped, as Lalonde crossed the short distance and sucked Jane's lower lip in between her own, that this would make up for all of the times that she ignored Lalonde's drunken cries for attention late at night, for almost leaving her alone this very evening. And lacking foresight, as was usual for her, she didn't stop to think that maybe doing this when she wasn't sure she would acknowledge it in the morning was a worse fate for Lalonde than if she had just left.


End file.
